Last July, IDA was optimistic when the USDA filed charges against the Cole Brothers Circus for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. The charges included failure to provide veterinary care to an emaciated elephant, failure to handle an elephant in a way that minimized the risk of harm to the public and the elephant, handlers who lacked the training and knowledge to handle tigers and elephants in public, and selling tigers without a dealer license. These charges could and should have resulted in fines of close to $100,000. Instead, the USDA chose to settle for an 85% reduction in the amount that could have been levied against the circus. Once again, the USDA has refused to hold a circus fully accountable for putting animals and the public at grave risk. The agency gave Cole Brothers nothing more than a slap on the wrist when it fined the outfit a mere $15,000 in settlement of serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Please click here to read more, and send your comments to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.Follow up with a phone call expressing your disapproval of this settlement. Urge the USDA to hold circuses and other exhibitors responsible for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. You can call Secretary Vilsack at (202) 720-3631.

Please use the form at the bottom of this page to submit your comments today!

Once again, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has refused to hold a circus fully accountable for putting animals and the public at grave risk. The agency gave the Cole Brothers Circus nothing more than a slap on the wrist when it recently fined the outfit a mere $15,000 in settlement of more than 10 serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

Last July, IDA was optimistic over news that the USDA had filed charges against the Cole Brothers Circus for multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) over several years. The charges included failure to provide veterinary care to an emaciated elephant, failure to handle an elephant in a way that minimized the risk of harm to the public and the elephant, handlers who lacked the training and knowledge to handle tigers and elephants in public, and selling tigers without a dealer license.

These charges could and should have resulted in fines of close to $100,000. Instead, the USDA chose to settle for an 85% reduction in the amount that could have been levied against the circus.

Penalties are supposed to be based in part on the circus’s history of violations and the severity of the charges. Cole’s history makes a case for much more severe consequences:

In January 2000, the USDA filed formal charges against the circus for abusing elephants; a $10,000 fine was levied but suspended. Their record of AWA violations continued unabated. In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service levied huge fines and probation against the circus and owner John Pugh for the illegal sale of two endangered Asian elephants, after IDA uncovered the illegal sale. Even after the just-settled formal charges were filed in 2011, following multiple formal complaints by IDA, the USDA repeatedly cited trainers performing with the circus for safe handling violations, including a handler with no experience giving rides on an elephant with a history of bolting. This settlement shows that the USDA fails to hold AWA violators accountable in any meaningful way, eliminating any deterrent effect against future violations. Instead, circuses are shown time and time again that they can get away with almost any abuses by paying a small fine that becomes just another cost of doing business.

Use the form below to send a message to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, then follow up with a phone call expressing your disapproval of this settlement and urging the USDA to hold circuses and other exhibitors responsible for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. You can call Sec. Vilsack at (202) 720-3631.

Personalize and submit the form below to send your comments to:

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack (Note: the term "Decision Maker" in the salutation below will automatically be replaced with the title and name of the recipient.)

Yes, I would like to receive periodic updates and communications from In Defense of Animals.

Remember me. What's this? Message* Subject:

Dear [Decision Maker],

* Personalize your message As member of In Defense of Animals and as a citizen concerned about animal welfare, I was shocked to learn of your agency's decision to settle the very serious charges against the Cole Brothers Circus for only $15,000. This is nothing more than a slap on the wrist for a circus that has a history of arrogantly flouting the law and repeatedly violating the Animal Welfare Act.

This settlement could have been far more substantial and acted as a real deterrent against future violations. Instead, it is nothing more than the cost of doing business for the Cole Brothers Circus, and it allows them to continue to put animals and the public at risk.

The USDA has an obligation to ensure the welfare of exhibited animals and the public's safety. I urge the USDA to do its job in the future and seek the maximum fines possible against irresponsible and dangerous exhibitors such as the Cole Brothers Circus. By doing so you will send a strong message that putting the public and the animals at risk will not be tolerated.

Sincerely,[Your Name][Your Address][City, State ZIP]

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed formal charges against the Cole Brothers Circus for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those involving the elephants Tina and Jewel. As a result of IDA’s work on behalf of these elephants, the circus should now be held responsible for the horrendous conditions under which Tina and Jewel were held.Thanks to you, the USDA received thousands of emails, letters, faxes and phone calls urging them to take action against this circus. Your calls led to this USDA action. Remember this next time you wonder if your calls and letters do any good. Click here to read more details about these elephants and the USDA charges.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed formal charges against the Cole Brothers Circus for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), including those involving the elephants Tina and Jewel (pictured at left with Queenie). As a result of IDA’s work on behalf of these elephants, the circus now should be held responsible for the horrendous conditions under which Tina and Jewel were held.

Thanks to you, the USDA received thousands of emails, letters, faxes and phone calls urging them to take action against this circus, and your calls have resulted in action. Remember this next time you wonder if your calls and letters do any good.

This USDA action is extremely important because it means that even though the Cole Brothers Circus does not have an exhibitor’s license, the USDA is still holding it responsible. This should lead to the end of circuses using animal acts under the licenses of other exhibitors as a way to shield themselves from responsibility for the care and treatment of those animals.

Alleged violations that involved Tina and Jewel include:

Failure to provide veterinary care to an emaciated elephant (Jewel, pictured at right with Tina); Failure to establish and maintain programs of veterinary care for both Tina and Jewel, or to employ personnel adequately trained and capable of caring for them; Failure to handle both elephants as carefully as possible by transferring them to a handler that lacked the expertise, skill and training to care for them. IDA also brought to the USDA’s attention violations regarding tigers that resulted in charges, including employment of a handler who lacked adequate training, knowledge and experience in handling dangerous wild animals.

The USDA must close the "loophole" that allows circuses to escape responsibility for animal welfare and safety by holding Cole Brothers and other circuses responsible for AWA violations at their circuses. (The elephant exhibitor with the Cole Brothers Circus has been cited for serious safety issues that put the animals and the public at risk; the circus should bear responsibility for these violations as well.) With your help, IDA will continue to monitor performing elephants, report violations, and ensure that the USDA holds circuses accountable for the welfare of the animals they use.

To read the story of Tina, Jewel and Queenie, click here.

To help us continue the fight for more elephants, please click here.

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

Campaigns - Tina, Jewel and QueenieTina and Jewel Freed From Abusive Circus Handler But Queenie Moved to Tiny Cell in Antiquated Zoo– She Needs Your Help NOW!

Tina, Jewel and Queenie (Boo) are three wild-caught Asian elephants who endured a lifetime of ill-treatment at the hands of the circus industry.

For decades the sad lives of these elephants never changed: Day after day, town after town, they were crammed into the back of a trailer, trucked from town to town, and confined to a tiny pen where they swayed neurotically, chained for 12 or more hours per day. They suffered all this for five minutes of performance time each show, forced to do dangerous tricks, under threat from their bullhook-wielding handlers.

Shockingly, the "owners" of these elephants, the notorious Davenport circus family, had been allowed to continue to exhibit them despite egregious and chronic violations of federal law.

Emaciated elephants ordered off the road

In April 2007, the USDA barred travel for Tina and Jewel due to severe weight loss in both elephants; Jewel was particularly emaciated. Six months later, the USDA reauthorized travel. Even though the cause of the elephants' weight loss had not been diagnosed, by November 2007 Tina, Jewel and Queenie were back on the road, under the control of their handler, Will Davenport.

But Davenport continued to fail to comply with basic standards of elephant care and handling. By March 2009, all three elephants were suffering alarming weight loss – over a ton combined in less than a year.

IDA to the rescue

Starting in July 2007, when our investigator located Tina and Jewel in Leggett, Texas, IDA worked to rescue these three long-suffering elephants. With the help of our members, we monitored them as they traveled around the country with various circuses, and filed complaint after complaint with the USDA, urging the agency to take action to remove them from Davenport.

IDA also filed the complaint with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that led to charges against the Davenports for violating the Endangered Species Act by illegally purchasing Tina and Jewel from Cole Brothers Circus without a permit.

On August 20, 2009, our efforts on behalf of two of the elephants paid off.

Tina and Jewel taken to safety

In the heat of the East Texas summer, the USDA, acting in conjunction with the USFWS, sent federal marshals to Leggett to remove Tina and Jewel from the Davenports' custody. After refusing to comply with the USDA's first confiscation attempt, Davenport finally ceded control of the elephants to the federal agents, who sent them to the San Diego Zoo. While IDA would have preferred that the elephants be transferred to a sanctuary, we recognize that the zoo is providing these long-suffering elephants with desperately needed veterinary care. At the San Diego Zoo, Tina and Jewel are being handled in protected contact, free from beatings, domination and the misery of circus life.

The fight for Queenie went on: The USDA claimed to lack a legal basis for confiscating Queenie in August, so she was left behind, chained to a tree on Davenport's property. (Read more about Queenie's background here.)

USDA files elephant abuse charges against Davenport

On September 25, 2009, the USDA filed formal charges against Will Davenport (d/b/a Maximus Tons of Fun) for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act in his abusive and negligent treatment of Tina, Jewel and Queenie. Davenport also faced charges for defying federal officials in their two attempts to remove Jewel and Tina from Davenport's property.

The complaint alleged 19 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), stating that "the gravity of the violations alleged...is great" and that Davenport has "not shown good faith" in his repeated unwillingness to comply with the act and regulations.

IDA repeatedly encouraged the USDA to bring the full force of the law to bear on Davenport in order to gain custody of Queenie and send her to a sanctuary. In October the PAWS Sanctuary made a formal offer to the USDA to provide a permanent retirement for Queenie at no cost to the federal government.

Horribly for Queenie, the USDA proved more responsive to pressure from the zoo community than from the many thousands of concerned citizens who flooded the agency with calls, emails and faxes asking for Queenie to be sent to sanctuary. In April, the USDA ignored objections from IDA, the offer from PAWS and public sentiment, and entered into a deal with Davenport, approving Queenie's sale to the San Antonio Zoo. In exchange the USDA slashed fines against him for his many substantial violations of the AWA, from $100,000 to a mere $15,000 – which the Zoo paid, and then added a $20,000 payment to Davenport, allowing him to profit from years of abuse, negligence and flaunting the law.For an agency empowered with overseeing the welfare of exhibited elephants, the USDA manipulated a result with shockingly little attention to Queenie's welfare. The agency could and should have ensured that she was sent to a sanctuary best suited for her special need for rehabilitative care. Instead, the USDA slashed fines levied against Davenport for multiple violations of the AWA in exchange for Queenie's transfer to an antiquated elephant display at the San Antonio Zoo – a display that was too small for Lucky, the one elephant already living there, much less for two.

The USDA appears to have completely abandoned its role as welfare overseer and acted instead as an acquisition arm for the zoo, at Queenie's expense. In response, IDA sent a letter urging the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, which oversees the USDA, to conduct a full investigation into the agency's actions in brokering Queenie's transfer to San Antonio. The letter detailed the highly unusual conditions of the settlement, financial pressure exerted on Davenport to send Queenie to the zoo, and approval of a facility that does not provide the specialized rehabilitative care Queenie needs.

The thousands of calls, emails and faxes from IDA supporters and other concerned citizens have had an impact in this case, but we need to keep the pressure on to get the USDA to rescind the agreement that put Queenie (the zoo now calls her Boo) in the tiny cell at the San Antonio Zoo, and to get her to the safety of a sanctuary where she can live her final years in peace.

Queenie has endured many decades of intense confinement, abusive training, constant travel and neglect, and she is entitled to a true retirement in a stable environment where she can get the care she needs. The PAWS Sanctuary stands ready to give Queenie a lifetime home, away from the stress of public exhibition.

UPDATETina and Jewel taken to safety

In August 2009, the USDA, acting in conjunction with the USFWS, sent federal marshals to Leggett to remove Tina and Jewel from Davenport's custody. After refusing to comply with the USDA's first confiscation attempt, Davenport finally ceded control of the elephants to the federal agents, who sent them to the San Diego Zoo. While IDA would have preferred that the elephants be transferred to a sanctuary, we recognize that the zoo provided these long-suffering elephants with desperately needed veterinary care. In November, 2010, San Diego sent Tina and Jewel to the Los Angeles Zoo, where they are are being handled in protected contact, free from beatings, domination and the misery of circus life.

Queenie and Lucky at the San Antonio Zoo

Since Queenie (now called "Boo"), joined poor Lucky at the San Antonio Zoo in April, 2010, IDA and local advocates have been monitoring the situation closely.

When alarming videotaped footage of dangerous aggression between Queenie and Lucky was captured last year, IDA filed a complaint with the USDA, demanding that they be removed from this unsafe situation caused by the very small size of their enclosure.

ElephantVoices co-director Dr. Joyce Poole, who has been studying elephant behavior in Africa and Asia for more than 30 years, reviewed the video and provided a statement for IDA's complaint that warned of dire consequences should Lucky and Queenie continue to be held in the zoo’s outdated exhibit. She observed:

"Lucky is being terrorized by Boo [Queenie]. This kind of persistent bullying is not seen in the wild, because elephants have other activities with which to occupy themselves, and because they can remove themselves from conflict, if need be. In my opinion, the primary cause of this undesirable situation is that the elephants have too little space."

Lucky and Queenie are victims of an outdated system that allows zoos to keep two elephants weighing more than four tons each in a space smaller than many backyards. IDA has strongly urged the USDA to take immediate action to avert a tragedy at the San Antonio Zoo, and called for the elephants to be removed and transferred to a natural-habitat sanctuary where they would have room to move and could choose their companions.

IDA will continue to work with local advocates to monitor both elephants’ well-being, and to take all possible actions on behalf of Queenie and Lucky.

If only the real-life Dumbo could fly! For if she could fly – like the legendary 1940s Disney character who shares her name – I know in my heart that she would, wherever she is now.

Dumbo would find her elephant friends who are held captive in cold, cramped, concrete zoos and squalid circus pens across the country – gentle creatures living year after miserable year at the end of electric prods and painful bullhooks – and she would whisk them away to freedom, to sanctuary. Forever.

Dumbo can't help her elephant friends. But you can.

If you can envision the constant terror that your skin – thick, but so sensitive it can feel the sting of an insect – will be pierced yet again by the sharp bite of a metal bullhook.

If you can imagine being forcibly ripped from your home - from your family - and forced to stand for hours, alone and afraid, in the solitary confinement of a barren and tiny cell.

If you believe that fifty cents or a dollar a day is a worthy investment to help IDA save these elephants. Your donation today to IDA of fifty cents a day works out to about $15.50 per month. A dollar a day, about $31.

Click here to donate now!

On the one-year anniversary of when the real Dumbo the African elephant dropped out of sight (IDA will find her – we know she's alive and struggling to survive somewhere), your gift will give her brave and beautiful spirit wings to fly ...

... to Topeka, for Tembo and Sunda

At 39 and 48 years old, Tembo and Sunda suffer frigid winters at their "home," the Topeka Zoo in Kansas. They cram themselves into a closet-like concrete enclosure where they stand for hours, to escape temperatures that can plummet below zero ... a cruel change from the balmy breezes of their native Africa. Sundra has serious foot disease that will likely claim her life. Tembo may have arthritis and her nails are severely cracked.

Labeled by IDA as one of the Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants, the Topeka Zoo has a history of inhumane treatment of animals. IDA is working with Kansas activists to convince city leaders and the zoo that Tembo and Sunda deserve a life far closer to what nature intended, at an elephant sanctuary.

Your donation can also give us wings to fly ...

... to the Liebel Family Circus, for Nosey

Imagine that, for half your life, you are shackled and transported around the country in a trailer. Denied basic health care. Forced to perform unnatural tricks. Held alone, without companionship. And don't forget the bullhook.

This is 29-year-old Nosey's life in the circus. IDA has documented violation after violation of the Animal Welfare Act by her exhibitors – a circus that frequently changes its name as it roams about the country – and submitted a mountain of evidence to the USDA - amassed by ten people across five states, including an animal control officer!

Your support today will help pressure the USDA to act for Nosey, to allow her to receive medical attention and experience the companionship of other elephants at a sanctuary.

... and yes, you'll help us find Dumbo and give her wings to fly!

Nearly a year has passed since Dumbo, an African elephant who performed with the circus under constant threat of pain, kicked and killed her trainer. Since 1990, at least 15 human deaths and 135 injuries in the U.S. have been attributed to elephants; the majority in circuses. Maybe years of the bullhook ... the shackles ... the isolation and confinement ... and the electric prod were enough to drive Dumbo and other elephants over the edge.

IDA can't say for sure what happened to Dumbo. We don't even know if she's alive. After the "accident" at the Shrine Circus last year, Dumbo dropped out of sight.

Here is how your donation will be put to work to help elephants in zoos and circuses:

IDA will continue our efforts to convince Topeka city leaders and the zoo that Tembo and Sunda are suffering and that the compassionate action is to relocate them to a sanctuary. IDA will continue to monitor Nosey's welfare, amass more evidence and mobilize activists to pressure the USDA to act and rescue her. IDA will continue our work to locate Dumbo, monitor her condition, and get her to a sanctuary. And of course, IDA will continue to publish our Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants list to educate the public and increase the media focus on the cruelty and suffering. As a 4-star charity (the highest rating awarded by Charity Navigator), you have my guarantee that your money will be wisely used to help elephants find safe haven. Thank you so much for caring about these magnificent creatures.

To donate by mail, please send check payable to In Defense of Animals, with “Elephants” in the memo field, to:

In Defense of Animals3010 Kerner Blvd.San Rafael, CA 94901

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

The conditions that these two bears have been forced to endure are terrible.

Kesha, a male bear, is currently living in a tiny concrete cage next to a restaurant. His owner feeds him alcohol to subdue and control him.

Stefan, a former circus bear, has reason to fear for his life. His owner’s neighbours continually threaten to poison Stefan if he is not taken away soon.

We have to act immediately. These bears must be rescued from their situations as soon as possible.

Stefan and Kesha deserve the chance to live like real bears. We want to save them and rehome them at the Bear Care Centre Synevyr in Ukraine.

But we urgently need financial support! Any donation you can spare, whether it be €50, €20 or €10, will contribute to helping brown bears like Stefan and Kesha in need. Please support us to give the bears a second chance to live as a real bear.

Four Paws entirely relies on donations from our supporters worldwide. These donations help us to maintain the independence and integrity of our organisation.

We are well aware of our responsibility towards our supporters. Our funds are used efficiently and we provide transparent information about their allocation. Please find your personal trust guarantee here.

Donating online is easy and secure. To begin, please enter your personal information in the form below and click "submit". Credit card information is encrypted on our secure server, so you can safely enter your data. Privacy Policy

Today - use the form at this link to send comments to your U.S. Representative.

Join IDA for a week of action starting Tuesday, March 20, to save animals from the misery of circus life. Participate in a variety of actions in support of H.R. 3359, the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act (TEAPA). This ground-breaking bill would effectively end the use of wild animals in traveling circuses in the United States!Animals in circuses are cruelly trained, chained and intensively confined, and forced to travel and perform. Denied all that is natural to them, they suffer physically and psychologically, and often develop abnormal behaviors such as repetitive rocking, swaying and pacing.Click here now to send a message to your U.S. Representative!TEAPA is at a critical stage and we need your support to see that it becomes law. The bill has been sent to the Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives, where the resistance will be tough. But with your help, we can move the bill out of this committee and move one step closer to ending the suffering of exotic animals in circuses.Tell Congress it’s time to join the many countries that ban the use of exotic animals in circuses including Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Singapore, Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia. Use the form at this link to send an urgent message to your Congressional Representative asking her/him to support this life-saving bill.Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative's office. (Please do not call your Senator at this time as a companion bill in the Senate has not yet been introduced.) Click here and then enter your zip code to find your Representative.Please tell us about your elected official’s response by sending an email to Catherine@idausa.org.

Use the "tell-a-friend" link at the top of this alert to share this with friends, family, and colleagues!Thank you for acting to stop the suffering of wild animals in traveling circuses!

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.In Defense of Animals3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031idainfo@idausa.org

Support the cause. Be counted: I Read This I am sorry for being put again in the position to address to ROLDA supporters and the general public regarding the latest harassment caused by Romania Animal Rescue, Romania Animal Aid and its representatives Nancy Janes, Kendra Pinder, Chrissy Phillips and nameless puppets playing their dirty games.

I had my heart full of hopes that this New Year will be a better one, peaceful for ROLDA and our rescue dogs. Unfortunately from the first day, I was announced by care2.com that someone hacked my email address, I wasn’t able to access in the next two days my emails and luckily, thanks to the care2.com support team prompt reaction, it didn’t ended much worse. It’s no need to explain who try to hack my emails account.

I planned to move on but unfortunately I was announced that Nancy Janes and people she is using to slander ROLDA – start posting nasty messages on Yahoo groups. Friends and supporters are harassed and called “abusers” because they adopt a dog from ROLDA or because they donate.

The New Year started with attacks against Merritt Clifton from ROLDA USA, his personal life was messed up since September 2011, on the abusive website Nancy Janes from RAR and her gang created to hurt ROLDA. Even if this gang made public Merritt’ personal emails which constitute an offense anywhere on Earth, he is kind of used with attacks of irrational minds and we all try to move on…

Then Dee – our collaborator from UK – got manipulative email from Chrissy Phillips from RAA, in which this pathetic pseudo-human-being made threats, especially when she read on our bulletin on Causes that Dee is planning to fundraise for ROLDA in the future, painting dogs portraits (what a crime!) and also later find out that Dee will help ROLDA get registered in UK…Chrissy Phillips got mad, wasting her time to write a long email full of non-senses to explain to Dee that registering ROLDA is pointless as she will make sure more and more people will find out “the truth” and because AR/AW community is small in UK – nobody will help us!

Then Alice, ROLDA representative in Norway had to block Chrissy Phillips from Gatehundar goup as she continued to post, uninvited – nasty comments and her on and on allegations there…trying to influence ROLDA supporters in Norway basically not to adopt from us any longer… Most of the people from Gatehundar don’t donate, but are happy to help us rehome more dogs…and alienated brains like Chrissy Phillips and Nancy Janes hate to see ROLDA dogs happy.

Actually this is why Nancy Janes slander ROLDA since 2006!!! everywhere she possibly can, she digs in for more details and when she can’t find she invents…and if she gets a contact of someone who help ROLDA, she gets mad and contact quickly the person “to inform” on “her experiences”…and if the person “attacked” has a minimal brain source not to believe the garbage coming out from the lunatic ‘mind…well, then the harassment starts. Nancy Janes alarms the puppets that start sending (often using multiple Facebook accounts, or hiding under fake email addresses) many emails to the poor person who wanted to do a good thing helping our dogs. The main reason for all this pure pressure, especially addressed to the ROLDA representatives, is meant to make them cease one day supporting us….

The only target RAR and RAA has – to redirect the support to them and those charities they prefer…and leave ROLDA dogs in despair …this is the low level revenge against me, what I love and what I care about.

I make an appeal to you to donate directly to Romanian charities that you plan to support, even if it’s ROLDA or others…and boycott these two RAR and RAA as the only thing they are desperately looking for is controlling. The megalomania of these two low-characters is unbelievable and their ego is the first they care about.

Instead of being concerned what ROLDA did before even being a registered charity, years ago, maybe RAA could explain publically why their aid mission for Romania dogs transformed into a trip in the Alps Mountains and then ended up in Croatia…loosing supplies(sent by credulous supporters) and not rescue a single dog from Romania. Or better explain why they asked for funds (and received over 2000 GBP) to “rescue Little Gray Horse” which they never did and no money was returned in their “pure honesty”…or why they asked supporters money to “get back the supplies” confiscated in Croatia when they stupidly drove into a different country “by mistake”(don’t laugh!).

Over 5 years ago I sent in good faith, receipts to RAR even if there wasn’t any agreement between me and RAR that required me to do so. I sent all the receipts together, explaining to Nancy Janes that some have nothing to do with the dogs expenses. Years after, RAR partnered RAA and decided to make public especially those receipts which don’t have anything to do with dogs related costs….interestingly enough.

RAR is constantly harassing ROLDA USA supporters and friends (even face to face in public places) and humiliated RAR few supporters by lying constantly….Lately, I’ve noticed RAR must have changed their moral (proclaimed) standards… Continuing to be the President of RARF, Nancy Janes suddenly provided a financial statement for 2010 for RARF but “forgot” to provide one for 2009 to Romanian Ministry of Finance. Then, being questioned she provided two A4 papers in which her collaborators declared on good faith that the money were spent according to what were sent for…WOW!!! No more receipts scanned, no more receipts needed…just A4 papers….Hmmm, sounds bizarre even for a brain conserved in alcohol… Then Nancy Janes wired to her Romanian collaborator (we all know whom) funds for a higher number of sterilizations in 2010 or at least this is what RAR IRS form shows, if it’s not a fake. When you make a simple math, it shows a number of 1000 sterilizations were “forgotten to be done” ….

These women(Nancy Janes, Kendra Pinder, Chrissy Phillips)will remain in Romanian animals welfare history recognized as the backstabbers, the wire-pullers…the real enemies instead of animal rescuers- as their sick imagination envision. I asked them numerous times to end up this fight on internet and move it to the Court where ROLDA can win or loose, but we will decently end this miserable circus and not hurt the whole image of Romanian dogs….

They pretend they don’t want to sue because Romania is corrupt. I believe Karma will get the ones who lie in these matters, I hope I will be able soon to sue them in their own country and end this mess that ruins my life.

Instead of enjoy the work done, the fact the large shelter was upgraded, the dogs are happier…I loose time with pseudo-human garbages more concerned to ruin than save. I noticed it became frequent for this gang to say “Mittal pays everyting”…no, Mittal pays the large shelter costs, but costs like the small shelter, like free sterilizations campaign – all these are coming from private donations. And one more thing, if it’s so easy to find someone like Mittal to “pay everything”…why RAR and RAA being so honest tried to ruin my collaboration with Mittal and don’t have at least one corporation at the same level to support them?!

I will not repeat my appeal made last year, when almost begged the lunatics to move on for dogs sake…I see it’s not possible. I just wanted to inform you how terrorized ROLDA supporters and especially closed collaborators are, so often that it became part of our lives…only because we stand up and rescue, while their activity is more and more confounded with harassment, aggression, revenge, pure evil, obscene behavior, slander and libel.

This is how my New Year started, in between helping animals from Romania. I hope yours is safer from lunatics! As much as possible …

PETA has won landmark victories for animals throughout the entertainment industry—including many historic victories for elephants in circuses. But it's only through your generous support that we can keep this important fight going strong.

Please make a generous donation to PETA online right now to help us stop the suffering of all animals who are exploited and abused.

Elephants Deserve a Day Off Too

As we celebrate Labor Day, let's spare a thought for the animals who labor for human entertainment—animals like Tina and Jewel, two elephants who have finally been freed from circus cruelty.

With your support, PETA can carry out our lifesaving work for elephants and other animals condemned to lives of suffering, privation, and abuse.

The fun and relaxation that many of us take for granted on this holiday weekend are a far cry from the extreme hardship that elephants endure in traveling shows. Every such elephant lives under constant threat from the dreaded bullhook, a steel-tipped rod that resembles a fireplace poker. Circus employees repeatedly sink the bullhook into the most sensitive parts of elephants' skin in order to force them to move faster, move up, stand on their hind legs, bow, or do whatever puzzling thing the trainer wants them to do, over and over again. Tina and Jewel have finally escaped this hellish life.

Emaciated and ailing, these two dear elephants were hauled across the country by Cole Bros. Circus and beaten in order to force them to perform painful and unnatural tricks under the big top. After PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) calling on the agency to confiscate Jewel, the agency slowly began to respond, first ordering that the elephants be removed from the road. Unfortunately, they were eventually forced back on the road again.

While Tina and Jewel were off the road, PETA received a tip from an informed source who reported further violations of the minimal regulations that exist to protect animals used in entertainment, so we submitted a complaint urging the USDA to confiscate these two animals. Finally—after so many years of abuse—the USDA confiscated Jewel. Tina was surrendered, and both were given a new home at the San Diego Zoo. They were subsequently moved to the Los Angeles Zoo, where they remain today. Although far from ideal, the zoo does not use bullhooks.

This year, a small measure of justice was given to Tina and Jewel. The U.S. District Court in Beaumont, Texas, slapped Cole Bros. Circus with a $150,000 fine and four years of probation for illegally selling the two elephants in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The USDA has also formally charged Cole Bros. Circus with numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including unsafe enclosures and failure to provide adequate veterinary care.

Tina and Jewel have been freed from their chains, but the elephants who remain behind spend most of their lives, day and night, in shackles so restrictive that they cannot take even two steps in any direction. This is absolute agony for them. In the wild, elephants walk up to 30 miles a day. Captive elephants don't understand why they can't move, walk, roll over, or lie down—or why they are beaten with the bullhook for daring to reach out with their trunks to touch another elephant or to pluck a blade of grass.

By making a gift right now, you'll help PETA continue to tell the animals' side of the story—the one that animal abusers don't want the public to hear.

The good news is that—thanks in no small part to the dedication of compassionate supporters like you—progress is being made for elephants who are still suffering the daily abuse that Tina and Jewel endured. PETA's relentless pressure is forcing reluctant regulators to act for the elephants, and attendance at circuses like Cole Bros.—which has recently been fined by the USDA on the strength of an investigation by PETA—is continuing to shrink as more and more parents refuse to expose their children to animal abuse masquerading as entertainment. PETA is working with activists across the country to get cities to enact or consider bans on bullhooks and even bans on animal acts all together.

Please remember that it is supporters like you who have helped to make this progress possible. As we honor working people on Labor Day, I urge you to make a generous donation to PETA today for Tina, Jewel, and all animals forced into lives of involuntary servitude and suffering.

Thank you for remembering the animals who are exploited and abused in the name of entertainment this Labor Day.

Kind regards,

Ingrid E. Newkirk Founder

P.S. Elephants deserve more than a day off. They deserve to be free from the beatings, chains, and constant abuse that they have endured for their entire lives in circuses. Won't you support PETA's lifesaving work for these and all animals by making a special donation right now?

RAR and RAA 'circus hurting Romanian animals I am sorry for being put again in the position to address to ROLDA supporters and the general public regarding the latest harassment caused by Romania Animal Rescue, Romania Animal Aid and its representatives Nancy Janes, Kendra Pinder, Chrissy Phillips and nameless puppets playing their dirty games.

I had my heart full of hopes that this New Year will be a better one, peaceful for ROLDA and our rescue dogs. Unfortunately from the first day, I was announced by care2.com that someone hacked my email address, I wasn’t able to access in the next two days my emails and luckily, thanks to the care2.com support team prompt reaction, it didn’t ended much worse. It’s no need to explain who try to hack my emails account.

I planned to move on but unfortunately I was announced that Nancy Janes and people she is using to slander ROLDA – start posting nasty messages on Yahoo groups. Friends and supporters are harassed and called “abusers” because they adopt a dog from ROLDA or because they donate.

The New Year started with attacks against Merritt Clifton from ROLDA USA, his personal life was messed up since September 2011, on the abusive website Nancy Janes from RAR and her gang created to hurt ROLDA. Even if this gang made public Merritt’ personal emails which constitute an offense anywhere on Earth, he is kind of used with attacks of irrational minds and we all try to move on…

Then Dee – our collaborator from UK – got manipulative email from Chrissy Phillips from RAA, in which this pathetic pseudo-human-being made threats, especially when she read on our bulletin on Causes that Dee is planning to fundraise for ROLDA in the future, painting dogs portraits (what a crime!) and also later find out that Dee will help ROLDA get registered in UK…Chrissy Phillips got mad, wasting her time to write a long email full of non-senses to explain to Dee that registering ROLDA is pointless as she will make sure more and more people will find out “the truth” and because AR/AW community is small in UK – nobody will help us!

Then Alice, ROLDA representative in Norway had to block Chrissy Phillips from Gatehundar goup as she continued to post, uninvited – nasty comments and her on and on allegations there…trying to influence ROLDA supporters in Norway basically not to adopt from us any longer… Most of the people from Gatehundar don’t donate, but are happy to help us rehome more dogs…and alienated brains like Chrissy Phillips and Nancy Janes hate to see ROLDA dogs happy.

Actually this is why Nancy Janes slander ROLDA since 2006!!! everywhere she possibly can, she digs in for more details and when she can’t find she invents…and if she gets a contact of someone who help ROLDA, she gets mad and contact quickly the person “to inform” on “her experiences”…and if the person “attacked” has a minimal brain source not to believe the garbage coming out from the lunatic ‘mind…well, then the harassment starts. Nancy Janes alarms the puppets that start sending (often using multiple Facebook accounts, or hiding under fake email addresses) many emails to the poor person who wanted to do a good thing helping our dogs. The main reason for all this pure pressure, especially addressed to the ROLDA representatives, is meant to make them cease one day supporting us….

The only target RAR and RAA has – to redirect the support to them and those charities they prefer…and leave ROLDA dogs in despair …this is the low level revenge against me, what I love and what I care about.

I make an appeal to you to donate directly to Romanian charities that you plan to support, even if it’s ROLDA or others…and boycott these two RAR and RAA as the only thing they are desperately looking for is controlling. The megalomania of these two low-characters is unbelievable and their ego is the first they care about.

Instead of being concerned what ROLDA did before even being a registered charity, years ago, maybe RAA could explain publically why their aid mission for Romania dogs...

Join IDA for a week of action starting on Tuesday, March 20, to save animals from the misery of circus life. Participate in a variety of actions in support of H.R. 3359, the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act (TEAPA). This ground-breaking bill would effectively end the use of wild animals in traveling circuses in the United States!

Animals used in circuses are cruelly trained, chained and intensively confined, and forced to travel and perform. Denied all that is natural to them, they suffer physically and psychologically, and often develop abnormal behaviors such as repetitive rocking, swaying and pacing.

Scroll to the bottom of this page to send a message to your U.S. Representative!

TEAPA is at a critical stage and we need your support to see that it becomes law. The bill has been sent to the Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives, where the resistance will be tough. But with your help, we can move the bill out of this committee and move one step closer to ending the suffering of exotic animals in circuses.

Tell Congress it’s time to join the many countries that ban the use of exotic animals in circuses including Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Singapore, Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia.

Use the form at the bottom of this page to send an urgent message to your Congressional Representative asking her/him to support this life-saving bill. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative's office. (Please do not call your Senator at this time as a companion bill in the Senate has not yet been introduced.) Click here and then enter your zip code to find your representative. Please tell us about your elected official’s response by sending an email to Catherine@idausa.org.

Use the "share" button at the top of this page to share this alert with friends, family, and colleagues! Note - the term "Decision Maker" in the salutation below will automatically be replaced with the title and name of your Representative, based on the address you enter.

* Personalize your message As a constituent who cares deeply about the well-being of animals, I strongly urge you to support H.R. 3359, the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act (TEAPA). This important bill will protect wild and exotic animals in traveling circuses and exhibitions.

Animals used in circuses endure a lifetime of suffering. They are cruelly trained, chained and intensively confined, and forced to travel and perform. Denied all that is natural to them, they suffer physically and psychologically, and often develop abnormal behaviors such as repetitive rocking, swaying and pacing. Keeping wild animals confined under such duress in dangerously close proximity to the public is a serious threat to human safety.

Cities across the U.S. and countries around the world including Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Singapore, Costa Rica, Peru, and Bolivia have taken action to prohibit the use of wild animals in circuses. The U.K. is on the verge of passing a ground-breaking ban. It's time for an enlightened country like the U.S. to step up and take action.

Congress has a responsibility to protect the welfare of animals and ensure public safety. Please end the use of wild animals in traveling circuses by supporting and co-sponsoring this important legislation.

Start a Petition Browse Petitions Login or Sign Up Login to Change.orgUse Facebook to connect with friends and mobilize your social network. Login with FacebookEnter your email address and Change.org password Your Email Password Remember me Forgot your password? Forgot your password? Send yourself a password reset message and then check your inbox.Your Email Or, log in with your Change.org accountOr, log in with FacebookOR Create an AccountFirst Name Last Name Your Email Password By joining, you accept Change.org's terms of service and privacy policy. Signing up as an organization?Click here to sign up as an admin for your organization’s profile.English (us) ▼ Deutsch English (au) English (ca) English (uk) English (in) English (us) Español (es) Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本語 Русский Tagalog ภาษาไทย Urgent! Take Action to Save Lonely, Miserable, Elephant

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Help / Feedback Signatures15,631 out of 50,000 PetitioningDepartment of Agriculture, the Philippines (Secretary Proceso J. Alcala) Created ByPETA Asia About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates Imagine, if you can, a youngster, shipped to a strange and frightening place, never to see her family or home ever again. But no alert is ever issued, no reward for her safe return offered. This is because the victim is an elephant, Mali, the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo.

This nursing baby was taken from Sri Lanka in 1974 and has spent the last 35 years in a small, concrete pen.

Try to imagine living your whole life in a room the size of a bedroom, seeing the same four walls every day. You'd have no friends or companionship and nothing whatsoever to pass the time or provide you with comfort. You'd never get to leave. That's exactly what life is like for Mali.

Mali is a mere shell of the magnificent being she's meant to be. She is the only captive elephant in the Philippines, and she needs to be retired without delay.

The Office of the President has issued a directive stating that Mali should be considered for transfer to a sanctuary after an evaluation of her health. A sanctuary can offer her thousands of acres to roam, ponds to bathe in, fresh vegetation to eat, foraging opportunities and, most importantly, the company of many other elephants. But despite the fact that PETA has offered to cover the entire cost of the transfer, authorities are stalling PETA's efforts to faciliate Mali's move to a sanctuary. Take action now to free Mali!

PS Want to do even more to help us help Mali? Please "like" the Free Mali page on Facebook and share this video with friends and family.

Animals need your help! Please contact Groupon, Inc., immediately and ask the company to end all circus deals permanently.

Despite knowing about the circus' long history of public deception and animal abuse, Groupon continues to offer deals for cruel circuses across the country.

We need your help to speak up for animals used for entertainment who are abused. In circuses, elephants are beaten with bullhooks and shocked with electric prods, and handlers rip still-nursing baby elephants away from their protective mothers, chain them for up to 23 hours per day, beat them, and shock them with electric prods in order to force them to perform tricks that are confusing and unnatural to them.

Don't buy Groupon deals, and let the company know why! Take a moment to send a message to Groupon executives and urge the company to stop promoting animal-based circuses. To contact Groupon, click here.

Please forward this message to friends, family members, and coworkers. Thank you for your support and for speaking up for animals who suffer in circuses.

With a quarter-century of experience behind him, Academy Award nominee Alec Baldwin has enough big- and small-screen hits under his belt to speak with authority about the entertainment industry. So when this card-carrying PETA member reports that a show-biz act appalls him, audiences everywhere should listen. In his shocking exposé, Alec reveals what circuses' bright lights and colorful costumes cannot hide: that elephants who are forced to perform are confined, whipped, and beaten for each show. Watch the video now.

Alec, who has hosted Saturday Night Live a record 16 times, knows how to earn laughs without endangering lives. But circuses like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus peddle cheap tricks to unsuspecting audiences by tearing baby elephants away from their families and striking their sensitive body parts with a bullhook—a sharp metal-tipped rod that resembles a fireplace poker. A lifetime of violent training tactics will eventually break elephants' spirits, forcing them to live in constant fear, sometimes for nearly half a century long. After the show, Ringling Bros. elephants travel the country for 11 months out of the year in poorly ventilated boxcars, putting them at high risk for foot problems and arthritis, the leading reasons why captive elephants in the U.S are euthanized. But the show must go on: Night after night, they are still forced to perform the same excruciating tricks.

..Written by Michelle Kretzer Posted 01-13-2012 What does Alec Baldwin never leave home without? No, not his iPhone—his PETA membership card, of course!

Alec knows that a PETA membership card is a great way to show your compassion for animals, and of course, all year long, your tax-deductible donation will work to save animals from suffering.

For just $16 a year—4 cents a day—you can put humane-education materials in classrooms, provide aspiring vegans with the tools they need to save animals every time they eat, and give doghouses to cold, chained dogs. You can place cameras in the hands of PETA's undercover investigators, spay and neuter dogs and cats, and send PETA's "Leopard Ladies" out on the road to educate shoppers about the cruelty of wearing fur.

And if you become a PETA member before the end of this month, you'll give animals even more—a donor has agreed to contribute $10 for every new member who joins in January. You'll also get a yearlong subscription to Animal Times magazine and a 2012 "Rescued" calendar packed with pictures of beautiful animals who were saved because of people like you.

We're aiming to start 2012 off with a bang—with 2,012 new members. Click here to become a card-carrying PETA member like Alec Baldwin today!

Learn More About Ringling Bros. CrueltyRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is known for its long history of abusing animals. In 1929, John Ringling ordered the execution of a majestic bull elephant named Black Diamond after the elephant killed a woman who had been in the crowd as he was paraded through a Texas city. Twenty men took aim and pumped some 170 bullets into Black Diamond's body, then chopped off his bullet-ridden head and mounted it for display in Houston, Texas. Ringling's cruel treatment of animals continues today.

Elephants in Ringling's possession are chained inside filthy, poorly ventilated boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight hours—and often 60 to 70 hours at a time—when the circus travels. Even former Ringling employees have reported that elephants are routinely abused and violently beaten with bullhooks (an elephant-training tool that resembles a fireplace poker), in order to force them to perform tricks. Read more about the Ringling whistleblower who told PETA about the shocking death of a lion and the abuse of elephants in Ringling's care.

Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Ringling numerous times for serious violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), such as the following:

Improper handling of dangerous animalsFailure to provide adequate veterinary care to animals, including an elephant with a large swelling on her leg, a camel with bloody wounds, and a camel injured on train tracksCausing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and unnecessary discomfort to two elephants who sustained injuries when they ran amok during a performanceEndangering tigers who were nearly baked alive in a boxcar because of poor maintenance of their enclosuresFailure to test elephants for tuberculosisUnsanitary feeding practicesAt least 29 elephants, including four babies, have died since 1992, including an 8-month-old baby elephant named Riccardo who was destroyed after he fractured his hind legs when he fell from a circus pedestal. Elephants are not the only animals with Ringling to suffer tragic deaths. In 2004, a 2-year-old lion died of apparent heatstroke while the circus train crossed the Mojave Desert.

To learn more about Ringling's lengthy history of abusing animals and deceiving the public, read PETA's Ringling Bros. factsheet (PDF).

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 1 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus USDA# 52-C-0137 (past # 58-C-0106), 8607 Westwood Center Dr., Vienna, VA 22182 In 2009, PETA recorded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus employees for many months and in numerous U.S. states. Eight employees, including the head elephant trainer and the animal superintendent, were videotaped backstage repeatedly hitting elephants in the head, trunk, ears, and other sensitive body parts with bullhooks and other cruel training devices just before the animals would enter the arena for performances. (A bullhook is an elephant-training tool that resembles a fireplace poker.) A tiger trainer was videotaped beating tigers during dress rehearsals. Footage from the investigation can be viewed at RinglingBeatsAnimals.com. Former Ringling employees have reported that elephants are routinely abused and violently beaten with bullhooks. In December 2009, PETA released dozens of photographs taken by a retired Ringling trainer named Sam Haddock. The photos reveal the violent training methods used on baby elephants at Ringling‘s Polk City, Florida, training center. The photos, which are available at RinglingBeatsAnimals.com, depict baby elephants bound with ropes and wrestled into physically difficult and uncomfortable positions by several adult men. According to Haddock‘s notarized statement, the elephants scream, cry, and struggle as they are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with bullhooks, and shocked with electric prods. According to him, these violent training methods are the only way an elephant can be trained to perform in circuses. Elephants are also chained in filthy, poorly ventilated boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight hours—and as long as 60 to 100 hours at a time—when the circus travels (see ―Animal Care‖). Ringling has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Ringling numerous times for serious AWA noncompliances, including the following: improper handling of dangerous animals; failure to provide adequate veterinary care to animals including an elephant with a stiff leg, an elephant with a large swelling on her leg, elephants with abrasions, a camel with bloody wounds, and a camel injured on train tracks; causing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and unnecessary discomfort to two elephants who sustained injuries when they ran amok during a performance; endangering tigers who were nearly baked alive in a boxcar because of poor maintenance of their enclosures; failure to test elephants for tuberculosis; and unsanitary feeding practices (see ―Failure to Comply With Humane-Treatment Laws‖). The USDA has at least three open investigations of potential violations of the AWA by Ringling. In 2004, a 2-year-old lion died from apparent heatstroke while the circus train crossed the Mojave Desert, and an 8-month-old baby elephant was euthanized when he fractured his hind legs after falling from a circus pedestal. In the late 1990s, Ringling paid $20,000 to settle USDA charges that the circus had failed to provide veterinary care to a dying baby elephant. The circus also received warnings from the agency for inflicting painful rope lesions on two baby elephants as they were prematurely pulled from their mothers as well as for shooting a caged tiger to death. Ringling‘s gold unit is leasing an elephant act from Carson & Barnes Circus. In a PETA undercover investigation, that circus‘s animal care director, Tim Frisco, was videotaped beating and shocking elephants and instructing others to hurt elephants with bullhooks until they scream in pain. Tim Frisco is the brother of Joe Frisco Jr., a Ringling elephant superintendent.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 2 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011At least 29 elephants, including four babies, have died since 1992 (see ―Deaths‖). A human strain of tuberculosis has been diagnosed in 12 percent of captive Asian elephants in the U.S., including many at Ringling (see ―Elephant Tuberculosis‖). Fifty-seven of the approximately 62 elephants owned by Ringling in 1990 were captured in the wild. Ringling employees have been arrested for sexual and violent crimes, including possessing child pornography, sexual battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and aggravated bank robbery (see ―Criminal Activity‖). This factsheet also contains sections on ―Danger,‖ ―Impeding Investigations,‖ and ―Declining Popularity.‖ Contact PETA for documentation. DEATHS July 7, 2011: Putzi, a 49-year-old female Asian elephant who had been captured in the wild and shipped to the circus as an infant in 1964, was euthanized. June 20, 2011: Siam, a 60-year-old female Asian elephant who had been captured in the wild and shipped to the circus as an infant in 1954, was euthanized. April 26, 2011: Ringling euthanized Lutzi, a 61-year-old female Asian elephant who had spent 56 years of her life with the circus. In a sworn deposition taken during Ringling‘s 2009 trial to answer charges that its elephant-handling practices violated the federal Endangered Species Act, the general manager of Ringling‘s Center for Elephant Conservation admitted that Lutzi and other elephants had been chained by two legs on a concrete floor for 16 hours a day. March 19, 2010: Lima, a zebra who fled the circus and ran loose through downtown Atlanta for more than 40 minutes, was euthanized as a result of injuries he sustained during his escape. January 8, 2010: Ringling euthanized Josky, a 43-year-old female Asian elephant who was captured in the wild in 1967. July 18, 2008: Calcutta, a 62-year-old Asian elephant who was captured in the wild in India and shipped to U.S. circuses as an infant, was euthanized by the circus. September 11, 2006: An Asian elephant died from unreported causes. The circus did not announce this death. August 31, 2005: An Asian elephant named Gildah died. Gildah was captured in the wild and used in Siegfried & Roy‘s casino act. She was kept in solitary confinement at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Feld Entertainment refused a USDA recommendation to conduct a necropsy on Gildah. August 10, 2005: According to the Asian Elephant Studbook, an 11-day-old elephant named Bertha died. The circus did not announce her birth or death. October 9, 2004: A 44-year-old Asian elephant named Roma was euthanized because of osteoarthritis.* The circus did not announce this death. A necropsy revealed that Roma had tuberculosis. August 5, 2004: An 8-month-old elephant named Riccardo was euthanized after suffering severe and irreparable fractures to both hind legs when he fell off a circus pedestal. Riccardo was undersized when he was born to Shirley, a Ringling elephant, in December 2003. Failing to wait until Shirley was 18 years old, when she would have been physically and emotionally ready to raise offspring, Ringling used Shirley for breeding when she was only 7 years old (see ―Animal Care,‖ December 5, 2003). Riccardo may have been afflicted with a bone disorder caused by malnourishment because his mother was unable to nurse him. July 13, 2004: According to an affidavit by former Ringling lion handler Frank Hagan, a 2-year-old lion named Clyde died while traveling through the intense heat of the Mojave Desert in a poorly ventilated boxcar without being checked or given water. The lion is believed to have died from heatstroke and dehydration. July 1, 2004: A 53-year-old Asian elephant named Calcutta 2 died because of an aortic aneurysm. The circus did not announce this death. Calcutta 2 had previously tested positive for tuberculosis (see ―Elephant Tuberculosis,‖ April 16, 2001).People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510

757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 3 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011May 11, 2004: Two Ringling horses were struck by a freight train as they were being unloaded from the circus train near Dayton, Ohio. One horse died instantly, and the other was euthanized at the scene. January 24, 2003: An Asian elephant was euthanized because of osteoarthritis.* The circus did not announce this death. December 22, 2002: A 57-year-old Asian elephant named King Tusk was euthanized because of osteoarthritis.* June 1, 2001: A 7-year-old Bengal tiger named Jasmine was euthanized due to chronic renal disease. The circus did not announce this death. May 25, 2001: A 34-year-old Asian elephant named Birka was euthanized due to abdominal neoplasia at Ringling‘s breeding compound. The circus did not announce this death. April 30, 2001: An Asian elephant died due to chronic osteoarthritis.* The circus did not announce this death. April 12, 2001: An Asian elephant was euthanized due to chronic osteoarthritis.* The circus did not announce this death. March 7, 2001: An Bengal tiger was euthanized because of tumors in her ear canals and sinuses. The circus did not announce this death. August 5, 2000: An Asian elephant was euthanized due to degenerative osteoarthritis.* The circus did not announce this death. August 1, 2000: An Bengal tiger was euthanized due to degenerative osteoarthritis.* The circus did not announce this death. October 28, 1999: A 52-year-old Asian elephant named Teetchie was euthanized due to multiple joints affected by osteoarthritis* and an M. tuberculosis infection of the lung. The circus did not announce this death. July 26, 1999: Benjamin, a 4-year-old baby elephant who had been removed from his mother before she could teach him to swim, drowned when he stepped into a pond while the circus was traveling through Texas. Benjamin drowned as he tried to move away from a trainer who was poking him with a bullhook. According to the Asian Elephant Studbook, Benjamin was removed from his mother when he was only 1 year old. February 22, 1999: A horse collapsed and died during Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey‘s animal march to the Scope Convention Center in Norfolk, Virginia. A PETA videographer captured the horse‘s collapse on film despite Ringling workers‘ attempts to obstruct the camera. Although Ringling claims that a veterinarian is available to its animals 24 hours a day, there was no veterinarian on duty when the horse was in urgent need of medical care. According to the necropsy, Ringling was aware of this animal‘s delicate condition yet kept him on the road anyway. September 3, 1998: According to the Asian Elephant Studbook, a 40-year-old elephant named Dolly died. Ringling did not announce this death. August 31, 1998: A 12-year-old wild-caught sea lion named Gypsy was found dead in her transport container in Moline, Illinois. In the wild, sea lions can live to be 20 years old. January 24, 1998: A 3-year-old baby elephant named Kenny was forced to perform in two shows while the circus was in Jacksonville, Florida, despite obvious signs of illness. According to the circus‘s animal care log, Kenny was ―not eating or drinking,‖ was ―bleeding from his rectum … had a hard time standing, was very shaky, walked very slowly,‖ and ―passed a large amount of blood from his rectum.‖ The log noted that at 11:30 p.m., ―the elephant was dead.‖ January 7, 1998: Ringling trainer Graham Chipperfield shot a Bengal tiger named Arnie five times while he was locked in his cage, killing him in retaliation for an attack against Graham‘s brother, Richard, during a photo shoot.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 4 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011May 22, 1996: An elephant named Seetna who was euthanized due to prolonged dystocia (difficult labor). According to the Asian Elephant Studbook, Seetna was 30 years old when she died. In elephants, dystocia often indicates that the fetus has died and is decomposing in the uterus. The circus did not announce this death. 1995: According to the Asian Elephant Studbook, the following Ringling elephants died: 53-year-old Cita, 53-year-old Ranni, 45-year-old Rhani, and 34-year-old Karnaudi. The circus did not announce these deaths. August 8, 1994: According to the Asian Elephant Studbook , a 41-year-old elephant named Jenny died. Ringling did not announce this death. 1992: According to the Asian Elephant Studbook, the following Ringling elephants died: a 26-year-old male named Petely, 50-year-old Nelly, and 50-year-old Mia. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH HUMANE-TREATMENT LAWS August 25, 2011: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to handle animals in a manner that prevents physical harm after a tiger named Kimba had her tail caught in the gait of a transfer cage. Kimba suffered a laceration on her tail that was ―about 1½ inches long and ½ wide.‖ Ringling was also cited for forcing Banko, a 35-year-old Asian elephant, to perform even though she was ―experiencing pain and distress‖ while suffering from diarrhea and abdominal comfort that required pain medication. Her condition was probably linked to sand colic, a potentially deadly medical condition. June 10, 2011: The USDA gave Ringling a repeat citation for failure to provide adequate veterinary care to a female Asian elephant named Sarah, whom circus veterinarians reported as having possible necrotic tumors on her reproductive organs or a condition known as pyometra, a bacterial infection that causes the uterus to fill with pus and become septic. Sarah reportedly had an elevated white-blood-cell count indicative of infection, and Ringling also acknowledged that she had a chronic fistula (an abnormal connection) between her rectum and her vagina. The inspector wrote that there is a discrepancy between what was written in Sarah‘s medical records, what the circus‘s on-site veterinarian said, and the treatment that she was receiving from handlers. Additionally, Ringling was given a repeat citation for failure to maintain primary-transport enclosures in a manner that prevents injury to the animals. November 18, 2010: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain an adequate program of veterinary care for a young elephant who had chronic lameness. The inspector wrote that ―the licensee has not conducted adequate diagnostics, developed an adequate treatment plan, or ensured that the elephant received prescribed treatments.‖ The USDA also cited Ringling for failure to maintain primary transport enclosures in a manner that prevents injury to the animals and for interfering with the inspection for over an hour, during which time it refused the USDA personnel access to the areas where the animals could be inspected. November 4, 2010: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain an adequate program of veterinary care because it had kept expired drugs in stock and other pharmaceutical drugs had no expiration date listed. August 17, 2010: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to store food in a manner that protects against deterioration or contamination after ripped fiberglass insulation panels installed in the hay barn at Ringling‘s Polk City, Florida, training center were found to be ―hanging down in the direction of the hay underneath.‖ The report continued, ―The hay could become contaminated with fiberglass and compromise the well-being of the animals.‖ February 19, 2010: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to keep an elephant under the direct control of a handler. The incident occurred while the animal was being walked into an arena for a pre-show in Greenville, South Carolina. The USDA citation stated, ―This noncompliance presents a safety risk to the animal, individual handlers, and the public‖ (see ―Danger,‖ February 7, 2010). Ringling was also cited for failure to provide an adequate outer perimeter fence for the hoofstock after a zebra ―bolted away from a caretaker‖ on February 18, 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia (see ―Deaths,‖ March 19, 2010, and ―Danger,‖ February 19, 2010). July 28, 2009: The USDA issued a statement regarding PETA‘s allegations that Ringling employees abused elephants and tigers during an undercover investigation that lasted several months, stating that the ―USDA‘s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has initiated a thorough investigation into these allegations.‖ March 12, 2009: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain the primary enclosures for the elephants and big cats at its Williston, Florida, facility in a manner that would prevent injury to the animals. The USDA also cited Ringling forPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 5 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011an unsanitary food storage area that was contaminated with rodent droppings as well as failure to properly maintain a perimeter fence behind a tiger‘s enclosure. March 11, 2009: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to repair damaged perimeter fencing around elephant enclosures at its breeding compound. The inspector wrote that the perimeter fence ―had evidence of small mammal tracks and paths and several areas where gaps were … large enough for a person to crawl under the fence.‖ April 10, 2008: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to handle two zebras in a manner that would eliminate the potential for physical harm or stress after they escaped while the circus was performing in Baltimore, Maryland. April 9 2008: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain the tigers‘ transport cages, failure to clean and repair the tigers‘ transport vehicle, improper storage of food and bedding, a filthy food preparation area, and unsanitary feeding practices. February 20, 2008: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have adequate perimeter fencing (which is required for potentially dangerous animals) around two tigers. January 11, 2008: The USDA cited Ringling for inadequate housing, which could have failed to safely contain six dogs and restrict other animals from access. December 11, 2007: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain records of acquisition and disposition for its tigers. September 19, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have a perimeter fence around dangerous animals that met the height requirement of 8 feet at its Williston facility. A similar citation was issued in 2003 at the same location. July 11, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for improper handling of dangerous animals by failing to ensure that appropriate security was provided when the train containing the animals was stopped on the railroad tracks. The inspector wrote, ―[T]hree APHIS personnel … were able to approach and walk unchallenged directly to the open doors of the elephant cars‖ and stressed that ―under these circumstances a member of the public would have been able to enter the cars and approach the animals, thus jeopardizing their own safety, or place items inside the cars that could adversely affect the well-being of the animals.‖ May 24, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide adequate veterinary care to an elephant named Jewel who has an abnormal gait and stiff front left leg. The inspector found that Jewel‘s stiffness did not disappear within a few minutes of walking as claimed by Ringling‘s veterinarian. May 18, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to dispose of expired medications. May 3, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide adequate veterinary care and maintain medical records for an elephant with a large swelling on her rear leg. Ringling did not have the prescribed medication on hand and the staff was unaware that the medication needed to be administered. March 31, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain the zebra enclosure. February 15, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide veterinary care to a camel with two actively bleeding wounds. January 6 & 17, 2006: The USDA cited Ringling for causing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and unnecessary discomfort to two elephants, Rudy and Angelica, who sustained cuts and scrapes from arena seats after becoming startled by a barking dog while performing in Puerto Rico. Ringling was also cited for failure to provide a safety barrier between the elephants and the public. October 5, 2005: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain medical care records ―for all the elephants, and Gunther in particular.‖ There was no treatment plan for Gunther, who had been suffering from a lesion for at least five months.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 6 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011September 22, 2005: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued a verbal warning to Ringling for having elephant enclosure fences of insufficient height and no shelter in a paddock at its Williston facility. September 7, 2005: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to dispose of expired and undated tuberculosis drugs. The inspector also indicated that Ringling transported an elephant named Siam from the Williston facility to the breeding compound. Ringling‘s tuberculosis-infected elephants are kept at Williston. Siam tested positive for tuberculosis in 1999 (see ―Elephant Tuberculosis,‖ April 16, 2001). September 6, 2005: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide shade to an elephant named Doc who was in an outdoor pen ―that does not provide any shade or shelter‖ at Ringling‘s breeding compound in Polk City, Florida. January 26, 2005: A USDA inspector noted on an inspection report that elephants Gunther (age 3) and Angelica (age 7) had nail lesions.* July 13, 2004: The USDA launched a formal investigation into the death of a 2-year-old lion named Clyde. According to a former Ringling employee, Clyde died after traveling through the intense heat of the Mojave Desert in a poorly ventilated boxcar. February 20, 2003: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have a complete perimeter fence around dangerous animals at its Williston facility. December 16, 2002: The USDA cited Ringling for keeping alpacas and goats in areas with an accumulation of debris that included wood with sharp pointed nails sticking up. December 5, 2002: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have an appropriate perimeter fence around dangerous animals at its winter quarters. November 7, 2002: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have four elephants tested for tuberculosis and for failure to store food in a manner that protects it from contamination. February 21, 2002: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to dispose of expired medication, for improper feeding, and for poor sanitation. August 25, 2001: California humane officers charged Mark Oliver Gebel, son of animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, with cruelty to animals for striking and wounding an Asian elephant with a sharp metal bullhook. Gebel allegedly inflicted the injury when the elephant, named Asia, hesitated before entering the performance ring at the Compaq Center in San Jose, California. August 24, 2001: Ringling was fined $200.00 by the city of San Jose, California, for allowing a yak to run at large and cause a public nuisance. August 20, 2001: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide access for inspection of animals, records, and property at its retirement center. May 3, 2001: The USDA cited Ringling for improper food storage. February 20, 2001: The USDA cited Ringling for improper food storage. September 7, 2000: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide adequate veterinary care. The inspector wrote, ―There is no documentation maintained on elephants that have minor lesions, scars, or abrasions. … Records of medical treatment were not available on the camel that recently had both rear feet caught in a train track.‖ Ringling was also cited for storing the animals‘ food near toxic substances and failure to maintain transport enclosures that could not be properly cleaned and sanitized. July 12, 2000: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide adequate care in transit, failure to provide drinking water, and failure to maintain transport enclosures. The inspector wrote, ―[A]nimals must be visually observed at least every four hours. … Tiger transport vehicle is inaccessible as long as train is in motion. … [I]t is not clear if the opportunity to water the tigers every 12 hours is available. … Tiger transport design has allowed excessively highPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 7 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011temperatures during routine transport. … Vent failure pushed these temperatures to a point of immediate danger to the animals.‖ July 5, 2000: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain the structural strength of its tiger enclosures. Two tigers had injured themselves attempting to escape cages in which an excessive rise in temperature occurred when faulty vent doors blew shut. One tiger tore at the cage, tearing the track from the door and breaking off a tooth. A tiger in another enclosure suffered an injury above the eye caused by the same faulty vent-door problem. June 16, 2000: USDA spokesperson Jim Rogers told the Austin American-Statesman that the agency has two investigations pending against Ringling Bros. for possible AWA violations. February 22, 2000: Ringling was cited for failure to maintain a transport-shift cage for the tigers because it had a hole in the floor. The USDA also cited Ringling for failure to provide minimum space for the dogs and failure to identify dogs and cats with USDA tags.November 9, 1999: The USDA cited Ringling (for the second time) for tiger cages in need of repair. The inspector noted an elephant with chronic arthritis* was continuously housed on concrete instead of a more comfortable surface such as rubber for large hoofed animals. A female Asian elephant named Teetchie with a history of thin body condition and who tested positive for tuberculosis on September 11, 1999, was euthanized on October 28, 1999. August 23, 1999: According to an inspection conducted by South Bay Animal Control Services, seven Ringling elephants were found to have multiple lacerations. A zoo veterinarian who reviewed photographs of these and other injuries concluded, ―The majority of the wounds documented in these photographs are fresh, actively draining puncture wounds caused by an ankus or hook.‖ May 27, 1999: The USDA cited Ringling for tiger cages in need of repair and locking mechanisms, as well as for failure to dispose of medications that had expired as far back as February 1996. May 11, 1999: In a letter to Ringling Bros., USDA Deputy Administrator Ron DeHaven wrote, ―We have completed our review of the lesions observed on two juvenile elephants, Doc and Angelica, during the inspection of the Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Fla., on February 9, 1999. ... [W]e find that the handling of these two elephants was not in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act regulations. ... We believe there is sufficient evidence to confirm the handling of these animals caused unnecessary trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and discomfort to these two elephants.‖ February 9, 1999: A USDA report indicated wounds on the baby elephants‘ legs from separating them from their mothers. The report stated, ―[T]here were large visible lesions on the rear legs of both Doc and Angelica (baby elephants). When questioned as to the cause of these lesions, it was stated by Mr. Jim Williams and Mr. Gary Jacobson that ‗these scars were caused by rope burns, resulting from the separation process from the mothers on January 6, 1999.‘ Angelica‘s lesion appeared as a pink linear scar, approximately 6‖ long and 1‖ wide on the right rear leg. The left rear leg also had a scar directly below the cloth leg tie. Both lesions appeared to have been treated with an iodine-based ointment. Angelica also had two linear healing scars on the back of the right hind leg. Doc had a pink scar on the right rear mid-leg area.‖ (Both baby elephants were just under 2 years old when taken from their mothers. In the wild, female elephants remain with their mothers their entire lives and males for up to 15 years.) Tuberculosis tests for one elephant were not available for review. No treatment was instituted for another elephant with positive tuberculosis status. December 9, 1998: A USDA inspector noted on an inspection report that an elephant with confirmed tuberculosis was euthanized. The inspector also noted that three elephants did not have adequate shade and that an elephant named Congo had intermittent lameness and what appeared to be hyperkeratosis (a skin condition). October 7, 1998: A USDA inspection of Ringling‘s elephants found three with lameness and one with lacerations on her forehead. October 1, 1998: The USDA cited Ringling for having a damaged transport enclosure for the hippopotamus. September 11, 1998: A USDA inspector noted on an inspection report that three elephants (32-year-old Lechamee, 28-year-old Sofie, and 42-year-old Mini) had suffered from arthritis* for at least 12 years.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 8 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011August 28, 1998: Ringling was charged by the USDA with AWA violations for the death of Kenny, a baby Asian elephant forced to perform in Jacksonville, Florida, despite his being sick. The USDA charged the circus with failure to provide veterinary care to Kenny, and Ringling paid $20,000 to settle the case out of court. June 9, 1998: Ringling was cited by the USDA for failure to provide records of veterinary care for an elephant named Seetna who was euthanized due to prolonged dystocia (difficult labor). March 26, 1998: The USDA issued Ringling a ―strong letter of warning‖ for the killing of Arnie, a Bengal tiger. An angry trainer shot Arnie five times with a 12-gauge shotgun while he was locked in his cage. September 5, 1997: The USDA cited Ringling (for the second time) for improper food storage. The inspector noted that a complaint about a lame elephant could not be verified because ―the circus could not allow the elephants to move freely.‖ July 24, 1997: The USDA cited Ringling for unsanitary food storage. February 3, 1997: The circus was cited for failure to correct a previously identified violation of unsanitary food storage. January 21, 1997: The USDA cited Ringling for inadequate storage of animals‘ food. December 20, 1996: The USDA cited Ringling for not providing environmental enrichment for primates. The USDA inspector stated, ―There is no enhancement plan developed. The primates show signs of stereotypic behaviors (rocking, weaving, shaking, and cage-bar chewing and licking). All primates are housed singly. Cages have no enrichment.‖ Ringling was also cited for not providing adequate space for a baboon. Additionally, the inspector cited Ringling for not providing adequate shelter for a hippo. He stated, ―The length of the hippo is greater than the width of the hippo pool.‖ August 14, 1996: The USDA cited Ringling for not giving the elephants tetanus vaccinations, deworming, or fecal exams. December 7, 1995: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to maintain tiger cages, failure to provide records of disposition for 10 elephants no longer on the premises, and improper food storage. December 5, 1995: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to allow access to its property for an animal welfare inspection. September 20, 1995: The USDA cited Ringling for not having a program of veterinary care. There was also no record of tetanus vaccinations. June 8, 1995: The USDA cited Ringling for improper food storage. February 14, 1995: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have an exercise program for the animals, as well as for animal enclosures that were in need of repair. November 10, 1994: The USDA observed that Ringling was storing animal food in an unsanitary manner. October 18, 1994: During a routine USDA inspection, an elephant was being beaten by a Ringling trainer. The USDA inspector stated, ―Upon entering facility, I heard yelling and the sound of someone hitting something. I observed an elephant trainer hitting an elephant with the wooden end of the handling tool to get it up.‖ A USDA inspector cited Ringling for failure to handle animals in such a way that there is minimal risk of harm to the animal and the public. Additionally, the inspector wrote, ―Animals shall not be housed near animals that interfere with their health or cause them discomfort.‖ January 21, 1994: A USDA inspector cited Ringling for electrical wires hanging loose inside a lion‘s cage, causing the potential for injury or death.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 9 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011December 29, 1993: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide minimum space for dogs and for inadequate lighting in the dog enclosure. The boxes were too small ―for most dogs to stand, sit, lie, and turn about freely.‖ Ringling was cited for failure to correct previously identified violations of not providing minimum space for bears, including one bear with rub marks; failure to repair the lion cages; and improper food storage. December 14, 1993: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to provide bears with the minimum space required by the federal AWA. Ringling also failed to provide a program for exercise. ANIMAL CARE February 8, 2011: Ringling‘s parent company, Feld Entertainment, released a press statement announcing that a two 2-year-old elephant named Barack has been taken off the road after veterinarians noticed early symptoms of the deadly endotheliotropic herpesvirus and Barack tested positive for the virus. This is the second time the virus has been found in Barack‘s blood; he recovered from an initial diagnosis last year (see ―Animal Care,‖ February 3, 2010). One of the leading threats to young, captive elephants, this virus is strongly associated with stress and ―usually has a fatal outcome within a week of the onset of symptoms.‖ February 3, 2010: PETA confirmed that a baby elephant named Barack was taken off the road because he had become infected with the deadly endotheliotropic herpesvirus. Stress is believed to be a factor in developing the elephant herpes virus infection. Barack was not even 1 year old when Ringling transported him from the Polk City, Florida, training center to the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa in December. On January 26, the circus announced that Barack was being taken off the road after appearing in circus shows in Orlando and Jacksonville. July 22, 2009: PETA released the findings of its months-long undercover investigation into Ringling and documented dozens of incidents in which numerous Ringling employees, including an animal superintendent and a head elephant trainer, hit elephants on the head, trunk, and ears with bullhooks, and a tiger trainer whipped tigers. PETA filed complaints with the USDA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with law enforcement agencies in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Virginia. Footage from the investigation is available at RinglingBeatsAnimals.com and shows trainers hitting elephants backstage just before the elephants were forced to perform for the audience and whipping tigers during practice sessions. March 18, 2009: Evidence was presented during a federal lawsuit alleging that Ringling‘s routine abuse of Asian elephants violates the Endangered Species Act. The evidence revealed that elephants are chained for an average of more than 26 hours at a time, sometimes as long as 60 to 100 hours straight; that the CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling, witnessed handlers hitting elephants with bullhooks; that Ringling‘s own animal behaviorist saw an elephant who had been struck with a bullhook dripping blood on the arena floor during a show; that in an e-mail, a Ringling veterinary assistant reported, ―After this morning‘s baths, at least 4 of the elephants came in with multiple abrasions and lacerations from the [bull]hooks. … The [lacerations] were very visible …. [A handler] applied … wonder dust just before the show‖; and that another internal report documented that Troy Metzler, a longtime Ringling elephant trainer, struck Angelica, a female Asian elephant, three to five times while she was held in stocks before unloading her and then shocking her with an electric prod. November 11, 2008: PETA contacted Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and urged the company to stop leasing its tiger act from trainer Lance Ramos, aka Lancelot Kollmann, after the USDA confiscated an emaciated 21-year-old elephant from the trainer. The elephant, who was approximately 1 ton underweight, was so badly undernourished that his ribs, spine, and shoulder blades were protruding. May 21, 2008: The Associated Press reported on records presented by several animal welfare groups pertaining to a federal lawsuit that was filed in 2000: ―In federal court papers filed in Washington, the groups said Ringling Bros.‘ own train records show the Asian elephants are chained in boxcars for an average of more than 26 straight hours, and often 60 to 70 hours at a time, when the circus travels. In some cases, the elephants have been chained on trains for 90 to 100 hours.‖ November 3, 2006: Former Ringling employees Bob Tom and Archele Hundley provided PETA with signed statements that described routine abuse of animals. Among their allegations: an elephant was left covered with blood after a violent beating that lasted for 30 minutes, a horse was whipped with the metal snap on a lead for 10 minutes and was later found to have a broken tooth, a miniature horse was knocked senseless after he was repeatedly slugged in the face with such force that the sound of the handler‘s fist hitting the horse‘s face could be heard 20 feet away, and the elephants were forced to stand in mountains of foul-smelling feces and urine during transport.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 10 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011April 12, 2006: PETA supplied the USDA with videotape showing elephant trainer Troy Metzler abusively hooking elephants, elephants kept on the road in spite of crippling arthritis,* and elephants who were suffering from painful pressure wounds. Two elephant experts confirmed that Metzler‘s acts of hooking are clear abuse and that Ringling‘s lame elephants should not be traveling or performing. March 2, 2006: Professional dancer Jodey Eliseo, who toured with Ringling Bros. for two years in the 1980s, wrote to a Chicago alderman in support of pending legislation that would ban bullhooks. Eliseo wrote that she saw an elephant forced to perform with a huge infected boil that covered half her leg; Ringling handlers who beat an elephant for stumbling during a performance; teenage elephant Sophie covered with bullhook wounds from constant beatings; and a baby elephant who was severely beaten as punishment for running amok and smashing through a wall at a civic center. November 16, 2005: According to the East Valley Tribune, ―Reba and Sheena came [to Phoenix Zoo] from Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation after years of circus performing, zoo officials said. Negative reinforcement, such as hits and pokes, along with years of doing unnatural tricks, caused the elephants to become aggressive and dangerous. ... Reba [who once killed a circus trainer] pulled on her own nipples and Sheena was angry and withdrawn. All were threatening to zookeepers and dangerous to one another. ... ‗When you think about these animals, they had traumatic lives,‘ [said Geoff Hall, Phoenix Zoo vice president of living collections].‖ September 6, 2005: During an examination, the USDA confirmed that a 3-year-old elephant named Gunther, who toured with Ringling‘s Home Edition (Gold Unit) had suffered from lameness. August 25, 2004: According to the Oakland Tribune, Oakland Zoo elephant manager Colleen Kinzley described a video showing a Ringling handler hitting and jabbing an elephant as clear abuse. Kinzley also commented on video showing a chained elephant swaying neurotically, saying, ―For such a young animal to be exhibiting that amount of abnormal behavior is just tragic.‖ July 31, 2004: According to an affidavit by former Ringling employee Frank Hagan, Ringling‘s elephant trainer Troy Metzler, nicknamed ―Captain Hook‖ by circus staff, was frequently observed abusively hooking elephants, including babies, with a metal-spiked bullhook. December 5, 2003: An elephant named Shirley, who was bred by Ringling when she was only 7 years old, gave birth to an undersized calf. Elephants in the wild begin mating at age 18. Studies show that captive elephants who breed before age 12 have shorter lifespans. December 12, 2003: Ringling‘s parent company, Feld Entertainment, has refused repeated requests, including one from celebrity P!nk, to send its elephant Gildah to a sanctuary. Gildah was captured in the wild and used in Siegfried & Roy‘s casino act. Gildah lived a lonely life in solitary confinement at the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas until her death in 2005. October 6, 2002: Veterinarian Gretchen Steininger, hired by Ringling to provide medical care and defend its use of animals, as reported in the Macomb Daily, while the circus was in Michigan, was fined $500 and reprimanded for negligence and incompetence by the Michigan Department of Consumer & Industry Services on June 22, 2002. May 6, 2001: Ringling subjected a tiger in advanced stages of pregnancy to stressful conditions associated with transport. Four tiger cubs were born on the road while the circus was performing in Columbus, Ohio. April 8, 2001: According to The New York Times, a Ringling spokesperson admitted that a trainer who had been videotaped tormenting elephants was still on elephant duty. 2001: Ringling‘s red unit is leasing five elephants, including its star attraction, a male elephant named Bo, from the George Carden Circus. On May 1, 2001, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported that two George Carden Circus employees had pleaded guilty to cruelty to animal charges in provincial court in St. John‘s, Newfoundland, and that each had been fined $200. The charges were brought after investigators found bears kept in filthy, undersized cages for 23 hours a day. The judge stated that he wished the legislation were stronger so that he could penalize the defendants more and suggested that people stay away from the circus. June 13, 2000: According to congressional testimony provided by former Ringling Bros. barn man Tom Rider, ―[Elephants] live in confinement, and they are beaten all the time when they don‘t perform properly. ... When I becamePeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 11 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011disturbed about the treatment of the elephants, the continual beatings, including the baby Benjamin, I was told, ‗That‘s discipline.‘‖ May 22, 2000: A horse found suffering from life-threatening colic as the Ringling train was traveling through Pennsylvania had to wait three hours for treatment while employees searched for a large-animal veterinarian. April 17, 2000: In comments submitted to the USDA, Ringling opposes language in the agency‘s ―Draft Policy on Training and Handling of Potentially Dangerous Animals‖ that reads, ―Hot shots, shocking collars, or shocking belts should not be used for training or to handle the animals during exhibition, and any such use will be closely scrutinized. An ankus may not be used in an abusive manner that causes wounds or other injuries.‖ 1992: Ringling disposed of five tigers who were of no use to the circus by giving them to New Jersey resident Joan Byron-Marasek, who owns a poorly maintained private menagerie. One of the Ringling tigers killed four other tigers at the facility. Byron-Marasek has been charged by the USDA with failing to provide adequate veterinary care and maintain programs of disease control and prevention for her tigers, and she was charged by state officials with overcrowded conditions. DANGER February 19, 2010: According to The Associated Press, Lima, a zebra traveling with Ringling in Atlanta, ―broke away from his trainers and bumped up against a fence, then wriggled through an opening.‖ The animal then ―galloped along a busy section of interstate.‖ Lima led police and trainers on a 40-minute chase through downtown before being captured. A man who was startled by the fleeing zebra told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ―All of a sudden a freaking zebra comes running down the street like a car.‖ He continued, ―Five or six police cars were in hot pursuit. And a bunch of officers on foot.‖ The zebra was later euthanized as a result of injuries he sustained. February 7, 2010: According to The State, ―A startled elephant took a wrong turn backstage and broke through the main prop door leading into the Colonial Life Arena during the afternoon pre-show for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus …. . . . About 100 spectators on the floor watching the pre-show saw the elephant break through the door toward them and rumble around the performance area, just a few feet away.‖ The pre-show ended early as a result of the incident. March 22, 2008: According to The Associated Press, three zebras, Mali, Giza, and Lima, escaped from the 1st Mariner Arena located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, and dashed into traffic. The same three zebras had escaped in June 2007 during the circus‘s Colorado visit.January 15, 2008: The Miami New Times reported that Ringling Bros. issued a statement claiming that Ringling elephant trainer Joe Frisco Jr. ―received minor injuries after falling while walking with a juvenile elephant in the elephant barn in Miami.‖ PETA had received a whistleblower report alleging that Frisco was actually attacked by an elephant named P.T. and sustained injuries severe enough to send him to the hospital. During trial testimony on March 9, 2009, Ringling trainer Gary Jacobson confirmed that Joe Frisco Jr. was knocked down by P.T. Frisco is the brother of elephant trainer Tim Frisco, who was caught on tape viciously beating elephants with bullhooks and shocking them with electric prods for the Carson & Barnes Circus. June 16, 2007: According to The Associated Press, four zebras and three horses who were being walked into an arena for practice became spooked. The animals reportedly ran loose along a road near a busy interstate for 30 minutes while Ringling was performing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. April 13, 2005: Elephant handler David Mannes was airlifted to a medical center to treat a fractured pelvis and soft tissue wound to his arm after being knocked down and kicked by an elephant named Tova while feeding the elephants at Ringling‘s breeding compound in Polk City, Florida. June 13, 2000: Congressional testimony by Tom Rider, a former Ringling employee, identifies Ringling‘s elephant Karen as a killer: ―Although she was the most dangerous elephant in the group, she is the one they used in the three-ring adventure where the public is allowed to stand around the elephant with no safety net or other protection around her. Karen had a habit of knocking anyone who came into range, slamming them into the ground, yet they allowed her to have contact with the audience.‖People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 12 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011September 1999: Two frightened zebras who were tethered together escaped twice from their handler and ran toward a main street while being transferred from the arena between performances in San Jose, California. November 1998: Three tigers escaped from their cage in a Chicago parking lot. A Ringling handler was hospitalized in serious condition with bite wounds over much of his body when he was attacked by one of the tigers. September 30, 1995: A Ringling lion bit off the index finger of a 31-year-old woman attending the circus. May 6, 1993: A Ringling elephant killed her trainer in Gainesville, Florida. The elephant knocked down the 51-year-old trainer and stepped on his chest. IMPEDING INVESTIGATIONS August 24, 2004: The Associated Press reported that Ringling‘s parent company, Feld Entertainment, refused two recent subpoenas from the USDA, requiring Feld to provide a video of the October 3, 2003, tiger attack of Roy Horn to aid in the agency‘s investigation. July 13, 2004: According to an affidavit by former Ringling lion handler Frank Hagan, employees who had knowledge of how a lion named Clyde died after traveling through the intense heat of the Mojave Desert in a poorly ventilated boxcar were instructed not to speak to USDA inspectors who were investigating the death. Ringling quickly had misters installed in the lions‘ boxcar before USDA officials arrived. March 26, 2001: An internal USDA memo stated, ―This is a request to subpoena to compel testimony and provide documentation ... under the AWA. ... I have been involved in an investigation into allegations of elephant abuse and exhibiting elephants infected with TB by Ringling Brothers Circus. ... The investigation has been very frustrating in that Feld Entertainment has not been cooperative with allowing the USDA to review medical records on the elephants, and the key witnesses will not cooperate due to court settlements with Feld Entertainment that prevent them from discussing any circus issues with anyone.‖ August 23, 1999: According to an incident report from the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, Ringling veterinarian Bill Lindsay and two other circus employees surrounded a humane investigator in a threatening manner and angrily confronted the investigator in an attempt to impede an investigation into bloody lacerations found on numerous elephants. August 6, 1999: The USDA was forced to subpoena a necropsy report from Texas A&M University‘s veterinary laboratory for Benjamin, a 4-year-old elephant who drowned, after Ringling ignored AWA requirements and two investigators‘ July 28 requests for the documents. February 25, 1999: According to internal USDA memos written by inspectors, detailing injuries found on two baby elephants during a February 9, 1999, inspection, ―[Ringling veterinarian] Dr. Lindsay was very upset and asked repeatedly why we could not be more collegial and call him before we came. I explained to him that all our inspections are unannounced. ... All Ringling personnel were very reluctant to let us take pictures [of the calves‘ rope lesions].‖ Ringling personnel were described as ―badgering,‖ ―disgusted,‖ ―antagonistic,‖ and ―defensive‖ toward the inspectors. ELEPHANT TUBERCULOSIS December 17, 2010: An e-mail to a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officer from Dr. Dennis Schmitt, Ringling‘s chair of veterinary care and director of research and conservation, revealed that an elephant named Karen, who was on the road with the circus, had tested positive for tuberculosis. According to the U.S. Animal Health Association, Karen is considered to be infected with the deadly disease, and she was subsequently denied entry into the state of Tennessee. April 16, 2007: A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captive wildlife inspection report noted that Ringling‘s breeding compound in Polk City, which housed 30 elephants, was still under a tuberculosis watch. January 18, 2007: According to documents obtained from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Ringling veterinarian Dr. Ellen Wiedner called an official with the Florida Bureau of Animal Disease Control in an attempt to persuade the agency not to issue a state quarantine in order to avoid negative publicity after laboratoryPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 13 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011tests confirmed the growth of tuberculosis on a lung sample from a deceased elephant who had been housed at Ringling‘s Williston, Florida, facility. September 5, 2006: Two elephants at Ringling‘s Polk City, Florida, breeding facility tested positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the human strain of tuberculosis that can pass from elephant to human, and three female elephants were pulled out of the traveling units because they had been exposed to at least one of the infected elephants. September 22, 2005: A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captive wildlife inspection report noted that four out of eight elephants (Siam, India, Tilly, and Prince) housed at Ringling‘s Williston facility tested positive for tuberculosis in 2001. September 7, 2005: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to dispose of expired and undated tuberculosis drugs. The inspector also indicated that Ringling transported an elephant named Siam from the Williston facility to the breeding compound. Ringling‘s tuberculosis-infected elephants are kept at Williston. Siam tested positive for tuberculosis in 1999 (see April 16, 2001). October 9, 2004: A 44-year-old Asian elephant named Roma was euthanized because of osteoarthritis.* A necropsy revealed that Roma had tuberculosis. November 7, 2002: The USDA cited Ringling for failure to have four elephants tested for tuberculosis. The inspector wrote, ―[Tuberculosis] is a disease that is dangerous to both man and animals. Animals must be tested in a timely manner for their protection as well as for their handlers.‖ August 30, 2001: According to an article on Salon.com titled, ―The Greatest Vendetta on Earth,‖ a 163-page sworn deposition given by Joel Kaplan, a private eye who had performed security and wire-tapping services for a Feld Entertainment subsidiary for 20 years, stated, ―[Ringling] had some real problems with the elephants. … I was told [by the circus veterinarian] ... that about half of the elephants in each of the shows had tuberculosis and that the tuberculosis was an easily transmitted disease to individuals, to human beings. … I was asked by Chuck [Smith], through Kenneth [Feld], to find a physician who would test the people [in] the circus to see if they had tuberculosis but who would destroy the records and not turn them [in to] the Centers for Disease Control [and Prevention].‖ April 16, 2001: An affidavit from a veterinarian at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories stated that Ringling elephants Tectchie, Vance, Sabu, Mala, Dolly, Calcutta 2, and Siam tested positive for tuberculosis. September 6, 2000: The USDA cited Ringling for failing to provide veterinary care to an elephant named Tillie who has been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Tillie, who is owned by Patricia Zerbini, is under the care of Ringling‘s Williston facility and commingled with other elephants, which puts them at risk for infection or reinfection. October 28, 1999: A 52-year-old Asian elephant named Teetchie was euthanized due to multiple joints affected by osteoarthritis* and an M. tuberculosis infection of the lung. September 16, 1999: Ringling‘s Williston, Fla., facility was quarantined by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services because of elephants‘ having tuberculosis. February 9, 1999: A USDA report indicated that tuberculosis tests for one elephant were not available for review and no treatment was instituted for another elephant with positive tuberculosis status. DECLINING POPULARITY January 17, 2011: The Times-Tribune of Corbin, Kentucky, reported that Ringling canceled one of its performances in the town because of low ticket sales. January 12, 2009: Florida‘s Blood Centers pledged to stop offering free Ringling tickets to blood donors after its executives spoke with PETA. January 8, 2009: D‘Agostino, a New York grocery-store chain, ended its promotional partnership with Ringling after PETA contacted the company. The stores were distributing coupons for discounted Ringling tickets.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 14 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011November 17, 2008: Michigan-based home-repair company Hanson‘s Windows agreed to end its Ringling ticket giveaway after hearing from PETA. July 29, 2008: Fitwize4Kids, a national healthy-lifestyle center for children, stopped participating in Ringling‘s Circus Fit program after PETA informed it of problems with Ringling‘s animal care. March 15, 2008: The president of Harris Teeter, a Southeastern supermarket chain, confirmed in an e-mail to PETA that ―[g]oing forward we will not be supporting Circus promotions [and] we already have turned one sponsorship down.‖ The food giant had been promoting Ringling in some of its 200 stores. August 1, 2008: In a report about the circus‘ Anaheim, Calif., performance, the Highland Community News wrote, ―Surprisingly, the amazing acts with … elephants and Bengal tigers did not receive as large a response from the audience as the seven motorcycle riders zooming around at the same time inside the ‗Globe of Steel.‘‖ January 22, 2008: Lukoil Americas agreed not to hold any more promotional events with Ringling and vowed not to partner with or sponsor the circus at any of its more than 2,000 gas stations. January 7, 2008: Denny‘s confirmed that it had ended its partnership with Ringling in December 2007, less than six months after announcing the joint promotions. The move came after months of PETA protests and consumer complaints. December 8, 2006: Lucky Brand Jeans pulled T-shirts emblazoned with the Ringling Bros. logo off store shelves and the company‘s Web site after learning from PETA of the animal abuse associated with the circus and to ensure a pleasant shopping experience for compassionate consumers. November 2, 2006: According to a news report on WJLA TV, the D.C. Armory, which had hosted Ringling in Washington, D.C., for 33 years, announced that the circus would no longer be performing at the venue. The report indicated that the Sports and Entertainment Commission, which operates the Armory, announced that it had been losing money on the show. April 15, 2005: The Philadelphia Daily News reported, ―The circus elephants are coming to town next week, bringing an outmoded and problematic form of entertainment to all Philadelphians. Here‘s hoping that this is the last year such an antiquated spectacle is welcomed within our city limits.‖ March 29, 2005: The New York Times reported, ―They are still the ones cracking whips as Bengal tigers (beautiful but a little fat) walk in circles, occasionally roar and run in and out of cages that look too small for them. Their trainer, Taba, did not seem worthy of them. But our consciousness has changed. We worry about how the animals are trained and treated.‖ February 14, 2005: The Star-Telegram reported, ―[I]n less than two decades, the Canadian entertainment phenomenon [animal-free Cirque du Soleil] has reached levels of revenues that it took Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey more than 100 years to attain.‖ November 20, 2004: The Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada) reported, ―[Production manager Brian Newman] said the circus has lost some of its appeal, which may account for fair ticket sales at each of this weekend‘s five shows at Copps Coliseum. Organizers say none of the shows at the modified 4,000-seat venue are sold out. ... [B]ehind the scenes, allegations of animal cruelty involving its elephants [has] plagued Ringling Bros. ... A Spectator reporter‘s request to view the elephants was declined.‖ November 5, 2004: The Chicago-area Daily Herald reported, ―Less enthralling, at least to those of us who go to the circus every year, are those acts that seem to appear in every edition of the circus: the high-wire acts, the marching elephants, the motorcyclists that zoom around the inside of a metal sphere. ... Rating: 1/2 out of four stars.‖ March 5, 2004: MasterCard International dropped its controversial sponsorship of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. MasterCard joins Visa and Sears, Roebuck and Co. to become the third national sponsor to end its Ringling promotions amid a flood of complaints. October 26, 2003: The Capital-Journal reported, ―[T]he Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which hadn‘t been to Topeka in 12 years, had ‗dismal numbers.‘‖People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 15 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011March 26, 2002: The New York Daily News reported, ―I went to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden. ... The Garden was half full. ... The tigers moved with the half-speed of a Municipal Building bureaucrat and were more stoned than the bums you had to step over in Penn Station on the way into the Garden. ... [M]y little guy‘s favorite attraction was the giant industrial dung vacuum.‖ August 17, 2001: According to The Wichita Eagle, Ringling failed to secure a date at the Kansas Coliseum because of concerns about its declining circus attendance. November 3, 2000: The Chicago Sun-Times reported, ―Founded in 1871, the ‗greatest show on earth‘ has steep competition these days from artier circuses, such as Cirque du Soleil, that rely more on theatrics than on lions and tigers and bears, oh my. This may explain why the east and west wings of the venue were empty.‖ September 19, 2000: The Seattle Times reported, ―More than anything, I noticed how many seats were empty, how The Greatest Show on Earth was more of a no-show here in Seattle than anything else.‖ May 21, 2000: The Dayton Daily News reported, ―But the most amazing thing of all wasn‘t even what was going on in the three rings [at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus]. It was to be seen elsewhere in the arena, up in the seats. In all the empty seats. … [T]he show we attended was nowhere close to sold out. In fact, the place was nearly empty.‖ November 19, 1999: The Chicago Tribune reported, ―Last Thursday‘s performance of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the 16,000-seat Allstate Arena was so small that two of the three rings were playing to rafts of empty seats. Attendees at several other first-week performances reported similarly small houses.‖ November 8, 1999: The Chicago Sun-Times reported, ―As master of ceremonies, baby-faced Johnathan Lee Iverson was a congenial [Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus] ringmaster who didn‘t let on if the half-empty venue affected him.‖ September 17, 1999: The Indianapolis News reported, ―Attendance continues to dwindle when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town.‖ CRIMINAL ACTIVITY April 19, 2005: According to the Centre Daily, Ringling animal trainer Sacha Houcke was charged with simple assault in University Park, Pennsylvania, after ―two employees of the Bryce Jordan Center called police and reported witnessing Houcke choke his daughter, push1 her to the ground and punch her in the face while they were working with the circus horses.‖ On May 25, 2005, Houcke entered a guilty plea to harassment and disorderly conduct citations and paid a $300 fine. March 6, 2005: According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Ringling animal handler Bryan Phipps was arrested for a 2001 aggravated bank robbery while the circus was performing in Cincinnati, Ohio. Phipps, who was hired by the circus in December 2001, spent six years in Ohio prisons in the 1990s after being convicted of drug trafficking, carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping. Police officials stated that several other agencies had warrants for his arrest, including a felony drug possession charge. May 24, 2004: Thomas Allen Riccio, a Ringling circus clown performing under the name ―Spanky,‖ was arrested in Fayetteville, N.C., and charged with 10 counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Authorities allegedly found 2,000 pictures on Riccio‘s computer, which was kept in his room on the circus train, of child pornography that depicted girls as young as 5 years old engaged in sexual activity with adults. May 2, 2003: According to a report on CBS program 60 Minutes, suburban soccer mom and freelance journalist Jan Pottker filed a lawsuit against Ringling for fraud and conspiracy. Pottker charged that Ringling spent an estimated $3 million over an eight-year period in an attempt to sabotage her writing career after she wrote an unflattering article about the circus. September 26, 2002: According to The Salt Lake Tribune, a Ringling acrobat was arrested and jailed in Idaho on charges of sexual battery against a 16-year-old girl. The acrobat allegedly dragged the victim back into his sleepingPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals • 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510757-622-7382 • PETA.org • RinglingBeatsAnimals.comRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Factsheet – Page 16 of 16 – Updated September 27, 2011quarters, slammed the door, and assaulted her. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service also ordered the acrobat to be held. November 10, 2000: A Ringling employee was arrested in Rosemont, Illinois, after police identified him from a fingerprint left behind when he allegedly mugged an Ohio woman at knifepoint a month earlier. The circus worker, who had been convicted of aggravated burglary and drug abuse in 1989, was suspected of committing a string of recent armed muggings. November 21, 1998: The Calgary Herald reported that the goat Ringling featured in 1980 as a ―unicorn‖ was purchased from serial killer Leonard Thomas Lake. Lake abducted, tortured, raped, and murdered women before committing suicide when he was finally arrested in 1985. The ―unicorn‖ was actually a mutilated goat whose horns had been manipulated to grow in the center of the animal‘s forehead. March 17, 1998: The Mountain Xpress reported that a Ringling employee, who was on parole after serving seven years on a New York murder conviction, was arrested in connection with two break-ins and liquor theft at an Asheville, North Carolina, liquor store. April 13, 1997: A Ringling employee was arrested in Worcester, Massachusetts, on a fugitive-from-justice warrant, which listed a charge of counterfeiting. November 19, 1994: Ringling‘s vice president of animal care Gunther Gebel-Williams, was arrested in St. Louis and charged with disturbing the peace. Gebel-Williams had screamed at a police officer and threatened the officer with the whip that he uses on his tigers because officers were giving traffic tickets to circus customers. October 19, 1994: A Ringling employee in Boston, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon when he stabbed a horse trainer in the stomach with a penknife. A fight had broken out when the employee had tried to get the horses to kick the trainer. April 19, 1994: A railroad official testified that a circus-train brake operator who helped conduct a safety inspection just before a deadly Ringling train derailment had failed a drug test after the wreck. A clown and an elephant trainer were killed in the crash. January 17, 1994: Two Ringling performers were arrested in Post Orange, Florida, and charged with disorderly intoxication. One of the men was also charged with resisting arrest with violence after he swung at the arresting officer and tried to push the patrol car into the officer. *Captivity-induced foot problems and arthritis are the leading reasons for the euthanasia of captive elephants

Never-before-seen photos reveal how Ringling Bros. circus trainers cruelly force baby elephants to learn tricks, and it's not through a reward system, as they claim. Explore the photos that will make parents think twice about taking their child to the circus.

You may have wondered how Ringling Bros. gets 8,000-pound elephants to perform tricks like sitting up and even standing on their heads, but now you know. Ringling breaks the spirit of elephants when they're vulnerable babies who should still be with their mothers. Unsuspecting parents planning a family trip to the circus don't know about the violent training sessions with ropes, bullhooks, and electric shock prods that elephants endure, so we need you to tell them.

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If the thought of sitting in a car for hours on end with whining kids, a hard-of-hearing grandma, and a cigar-puffing uncle this Thanksgiving weekend makes you feel queasy, imagine making the trip in a poorly ventilated boxcar with no heat. Upon arriving at your destination, instead of being greeted by welcoming family members, a hearty meal, and a warm bed, you're prodded into a march to an arena basement, where you're chained to a concrete floor until being poked and jabbed into the ring and forced to perform meaningless, repetitious, uncomfortable, and even painful tricks in front of a screaming crowd.

That is a snapshot of the lives of the elephants who are dragged from one circus show to the next—but a new bill before Congress could give elephants, tigers, and other exotic animals used by circuses a reprieve.

Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia has introduced H.R. 3359, the Traveling Exotic Animal Protection Act, which would, among other measures, prohibit exhibitors from forcing animals to be transported for more than 12 hours without a break and ban forcing animals to perform if they had traveled within the past 15 days, effectively prohibiting circuses from trucking the animals around the country for months at a time.

Internal Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus documents show that elephants used by the circus are chained for up to 100 hours straight (and an average of 26 consecutive hours per trip) while traveling between cities. Not surprisingly, Ringling opposes the bill and has called it an "attack" on "tradition."

Ringling is spending mega-dollars to oppose H.R. 3359, which is why it is so important that you take a moment to click here to contact your representative to ask him or her to support the bill or to thank your legislator if he or she is already a co-sponsor. Let your representative know that animal abuse is not a tradition worth supporting.